More Current Affairs:

Transcript

Cross-border Christmas crimes in America

AM Archive - Tuesday, 26 December , 2000 00:00:00

Reporter: michael carey

ELEANOR HALL: For many people, Christmas means seeing family but for some in the United States choosing to go on a family visit has involved an unexpected risk. They're the hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants visiting families south of the Mexico border.

This year, those who have made the trip have found Mexico's new President, Vincente Fox, waiting for them at the border as Washington correspondent Michael Carey reports.

MICHAEL CAREY: It's Christmas Day across the Americas today and celebrations are underway north and south. But for the army of undocumented Mexican workers in the US, deciding where to celebrate can be an excruciating choice. Staying put can be safe but lonely, going home is another matter again.

Those who choose to go back know they'll have to deal with the tricky and sometimes dangerous business of returning to the US without papers. In the past years they've also had to pay bribes to Mexican border guards to re-enter their own country in the first place.

But Mexico's new President wants to change all that. Vincente Fox surprised observers when he made an unexpected visit to the US-Mexico border this Christmas to demonstrate his support for the migrants. He addressed border officials, urging them to foreswear extortion and welcome returnees instead.

And in Tijuana he stopped off at the Catholic Hostel, at the house of a migrant, promising he'll take up the issues of border safety with the new Bush Administration in Washington.

Brother Raol Ochoa from the Casa del Migrante.

BROTHER OCHOA: This is an historical moment because this is the first time that a president came here to come over to this house.

MICHAEL CAREY: And what did the President do when he visited you? Did he meet and talk to people?

BROTHER OCHOA: His promise to the migrants was to fight for respect for them, to fight for better opportunities in the country so they don't have to leave for another land.

MICHAEL CAREY: What are you doing at the house for Christmas Day? What are you doing?

BROTHER OCHOA: Right now we're preparing the Christmas dinner. We have a traditional celebration in Mexico called Posada and for this celebration we have the biggest Posada and the biggest Christmas dinner and presents for the migrants and the Christmas mass, all these celebrations for the day.

MICHAEL CAREY: And what's for Christmas dinner?

BROTHER OCHOA: Turkey. It's almost the same as in the States. A little spicy.